wilson



(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 1.

J. T. WILSON.

OAR COUPLING.

No. 389,181. Patented Sept. 4, 1888.

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.'(No Modl.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 2., J. T. WILSON.

CAR COUPLING.

No. 389,181. Patented Sept. 4, 1-888.

l IO

UNITED STATES PATENT GFFICE.

JOHN T. \VILSON, OF PITTSBURG, PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIGNOR OF THREE- FOURTHS TO THE PITTSBURGH FORGE AND IRON COMPANY.

CAR-COUPLING.

SPECIFICATION tanning part of Letters Patent. No. 389,181, dated September 4, 1888.

Application filed June 1, 1888. Serial No. 275,694.

To aZZ whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, JOHN T. Wrnson, a citizen of the United States, residing at Pittsburg, in the county of Allegheny and State of Pennsylvania, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Car-Couplings; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

My invention relates to earcouplings, and has for its object an improvement in that class of couplers which employ a rotary vertical hook.

The invention will be hereinafter described, and particularly pointed out in the claims.

In the accompanying drawings, which form part of this specification, Figure l is a perspective view showing my improved coupler attached to a car, the hook being in locked position. Figs. 2 and .l are enlarged perspectives of the hook and the locking-cam attached. Fig. i is a similar view of a portion of a coupler, showing the hook open. Fig. 5 is a horizontal section with the upper side of the skeleton frame removed, showing two couplers locked; and Fig. 6 is a similar view of the head portion of one coupler with the hook removed.

Reference being had to the drawings and the letters marked thereon, A represents a forged skeleton-frame draw-bar, which is provided with arms a, to which the hook B is attached by a pin, b, and guard'arms 0, between which a guard-block, d, is secured. The inner surfaces of the arms a are provided with rabbets or seats ef-the former to receive the male members or projectlonsg of the book, which, in conjunction with the seats 6 and pin b, form a swinging joint for said hook. The seatsf are provided with curved side walls, It, and rear curved walls, 2', which coincide with the curved sides k and ends I of the vertical projections in on the upper and lower sides of the hook B. The hook is provided with two arms, a 0, at right angles to each other, the former having a slot, 1), to receive a link of a coupling of that character, and a hole, q, to receive a pin for securing the link in position when coupled. The arm is provided with (No model.)

projection 1' of the hook B when the coupler is locked, as clearly shown in Figs. and 6. The guard-block (I may also be cast or forged, and the skeleton block and the guard-block may be secured to the upper and lower sides of the skeleton draw-bar frame by bolts w passing through them and headed on both sides, or they may be secured by welding them together.

The cam G is provided with a flat surface, :0, upon which it rests normally, and to the outer end of the rod D is attached a weighted hand-lever, F, which, in conjunction with the eccentricity of the cam, causes the cam to set automatically upon its flat surface after it has been tripped by the extension 1' of the hook to automatically hook the coupler, or after it has been raised by the hand-lever to uncouple.

On theinnersurfacc of each half of the head of the draw-bar are lugs a, which bear against the outer surface of one end of the skeleton brace-block to resist lateral strain upon the bolts 10 when two couplers are locked and the cars are in motion.

The construction being substantially as shown, the operation is as follows: The hooks B of two cars fitted with my improved coupler being set in the position shown in Fig. 4, as they approach each other the arm a of each hook will strike the arm 0 of the other hook and push it rearward, when the inclined surface 8 on the projection 1' will engage with the inclined groove tof the cam O and trip it. The projection 1 will then be seated in the recess o. The shock produced by the approaching cars will be received and resisted by the projections m on the hook and the curved walls h t of the draw-head and is Z of the hook, thus relieving the excessive strain upon the pin 1). When the p of its coupled position.

cars are being drawn, it will be observed that thestrain upon the hooks is transferred totheir inner arms, 0, and the projections rbrought to bear against one end of the cam G, which in turn is pushed against one of the inner walls of the brace-block E, which in turn is supported by the lugs a on the inner surfaces of the drawhead. 'Io uncouple two cars, the lever of one of the couplers F is raised and the shaft D turned one-fourth of a revolution, which will raise the cam C out of engagement with the projection r and allow the hook to swing out As soon as the lever F is released it will return by gravity to its normal position and put the cam in position again for automatic coupling.

To prevent couplingwhile shunting cars,the lever F is raised and secured by a chain, 1), when the cam will be in the position shown in Fig. 3 and will not lock the coupler.

Having thus fully described my invention, what I claim is 1. In a vertical-hook coupler, a rotary hook having a rearwardly-inolined surface, in combination with a cam arranged transversely of the draw-head, provided with an inclined groove, with which the incline on the hook engages for automatically locking the coupler, substantially as described.

2. In a vertical-hook coupler, a rotary hook having a rearwardly-inclined surface, in combination with an eccentric cam arranged transve'rsely of the draw-head and provided with a flat side and an inclined groove, a shaft supporting said cam,and aweighted arm attached to said shaft, substantially as described.

3. In a vertical-hook coupler, a hook having projections, as g and m, on its sides, the latter having curved side and end surfaces, in combination with a draw-head having seats, as e andf, the latter having side and end walls corresponding with the projectionsm on the hook, substantially as described. I

4. A forged skeleton draw-bar frame having a skeleton brace-block secured in its head, in combination with a rotary hook and alocking device, substantially as described.

5. A skeleton draw-bar frame having a skeleton brace-block in its head, the frame and block being secured by bolts, in combination with a rotary hook and an automatic locking device, substantially as described.

6. A skeleton draw-bar frame having laterally supporting lugs, in combination with a skeleton brace block,a rotary hook, and a transverse locking-cam supported in a recess in the head, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

" JOHN '1. WILSON.

Witnesses:

D. (J. REINoHL, WM. E. DYRE. 

